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Best Solo Performer

Bart Davenport

Bart Davenport is best known for his work in local band favorites the Kinetics and the Loved Ones. He looks like he walked out of the '60s, and he sounds like it, too -- only this time it ain't funky soul music he's playing. His new self-titled solo record carries a neo-California sound, with tracks that reflect a sort of poppy Beach Boys cleanness mixed with subtle electronic touches and an appreciation for hip-huggers and Harry Nilsson. Live, his acoustic guitar is often drowned out by clinking glasses and hipster chatter, but slip in his CD at home, and wow. Davenport simply has a fantastic voice and a keen understanding of phrasing. In his hands, even the sappiest phrases ("Caught in the web of love so vast/Developing so fast like a Polaroid") sound brilliant.